But curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to find out what a ‘Doctor Who’ audio adventure with the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa would be like on a vinyl/LP record release. I’ve really enjoyed ‘Spare Parts’ on vinyl and I found this an intriguing and surreal experience to listen to a classic story all new!

Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton are my favourite TARDIS duo as the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa. Delighted that one of their audio adventures, ‘Spare Parts’, was chosen to be released on vinyl, as well as ‘The Chimes of Midnight’ with Paul McGann and India Fisher, it was irresistible to purchase.

I already had ‘Spare Parts’ on audio CD and it wasn’t necessary for me to purchase the story again on vinyl as it would be a collectors’ item. But for all the reasons I came up with against purchasing it, I didn’t want to miss out on an item featuring my favourite Doctor and companion. Thus I went for it!

‘Spare Parts’ is considered by many as one of the best ‘Doctor Who’ audio stories to be released by Big Finish back in 2002. It’s a well-written ‘genesis of the Cybermen’ on Mondas story by Marc Platt and it’s no surprise that it went on to be the inspiration for ‘Rise of the Cybermen’/’The Age of Steel’.

Listening to the story on vinyl was an interesting experience. Originally the story was released as a four-part adventure on a 2-disc CD set. So it was a surprise for me when I discovered that ‘Spare Parts’ was released on 4 vinyl discs, with the story released as a six-part tale on the first three discs.

I’ve not had much experience with playing vinyl/LP records on a record player, although as a kid I used to enjoy playing my Dad’s ‘Glenn Miller’ records as well as a ‘Laurel & Hardy’ record on a record player he had. I’m so pleased I played the ‘Spare Parts’ vinyl on my Dad’s latest record player at home.

Having listened to the story for the umpteenth time, I knew what to expect when listening to ‘Spare Parts’ on vinyl. So it was quite a surprise when I heard the cliff-hangers for each of the six episodes, with ‘Part One’ on Disc 1, Side A; ‘Part Two’ on Disc 1, Side B; ‘Part Three’ on Disc 2, Side A and so on.

The fourth disc of the vinyl edition of ‘Spare Parts’ is a documentary disc looking into the behind-the-scenes making of the story. This included interviews with director Gary Russell; writer Marc Platt and executive producer/Cybermen voice artist Nicholas Briggs, sharing memories of making ‘Spare Parts’.

The documentary also included interviews with Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton. This was a lovely surprise for me, as I didn’t expect to hear my favourite Doctor and companion being interviewed for this. It was great to hear Peter and Sarah sharing memories on one of their favourite ‘Doctor Who’s.

The ‘Spare Parts’ vinyl edition has been a worthwhile ‘Doctor Who’ purchase from Big Finish. I enjoyed the listening experience of hearing one of my favourite Fifth Doctor and Nyssa stories with the Cybermen on vinyl. I don’t normally purchase vinyl releases, but I am pleased I did it for this one.

I hope to get my vinyl copy of ‘Spare Parts’ signed by Peter and Sarah next.